Can you?

[stringstretcher]

Can you size a cast boolit and then pan lube it, or should you lube it and then size?

[docone31]

Lube it and then size it.
I never tried it the other way, and I can see how it would be more difficult.

[jonk]

I sometimes size first; depends what I'm doing.

For pan lubing I lube first as the sizer helps squeegee the excess lube off.

For installing gas checks sometimes though I size and seat the check first in a Lee push through, then just lube in a lube sizer. Why? Well the Lee system sizes much more uniformly than a lube sizer for some bullets, for some reason. For instance my Lee .309 200 gr GC mold; I try running that through a .309 sizer (when it drops at .311 or so) it looks misshapen, lube grooves smeared around, really bad. I size it to .309 first in a push through, no issues then lubing in the lube die. Why? Don't know. I think it 's the mold (s) in question. But it happens.

So far as 'naked' sizing, I've had no issues. I spray a little case lube on the bullets first that helps. And given that hte case lube is dillon, basically alcohol and lanolin, and there is lanolin in the feelix lube, I figure they are compatable.

[Pepe Ray]

Primarily it depends on how much reduction is needed. Pushing an un lubed boolet thru ANY sizing die warps and distortes it when the surface has so many places to move to. Only when the spaces (lube grooves) are uniformly filled can the boolet be expected to emerge in a uniform condition.
Occasionally one will need to heavily reduce a boolet's diameter. Without pre lubing the grooves will sometimes disappear altogether. With the lubes filled the major difference will be in the nose shape and overall length.
Pepe Ray

[docone31]

Putting a casting through a sizer dry is inviting smearing.
When I size to paper patch, I coat my castings with dish soap. It provides enough lube to size, and comes right off with water.
Actually acts pretty well.

[pdawg_shooter]

I size .459 down to .451 dry without any problem. Also .311 to .301. I use a Lee push through.

[Will]

Before I got a lube/sizer I tried it both ways and they both worked OK.

[beagle]

Probably a mite messier doing it that way but it should work./beagle

[Green Frog]

Slightly off the original question, but when we swaged some tapered cast bullets slightly (for use in schuetzen rifles) we found it was necessary to lube first or the grooves would smear and collapse every time, no ifs, ands or buts! This didn't involve a whole lot of sizing either, basically just enough to clean up the bullets to a good round profile (less than .001" usually.) At the time I was using a Dell lube pump, then inserting the lubed bullet into the "bump-swage" die in a RCBS Rockchucker. I can't imagine being able to get much size reduction in a cylindrical bullet naked without significant distortion and smearing, but YMMV!

Froggie

[trk]

Froggie - WELCOME to the board!

On a different note, one can size, water harden (heating bullets in an oven and queching) and then lube. Accuracy is of course a question.

[lunicy]

FWIW Lee specifically says lube then size or you will lead your die.